The role of women in Victorian England reflected in Jane Eyre

Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, Englisches Seminar
Sommersemester 2005, 3. Fachsemester
Proseminar I, ‘The Brontës’

The Role of Women in Victorian England
reflected in Jane Eyre

by: Beate Wilhelm

Contents

Introduction  3

Chapter 1 4

Women in Victorian England - Traditions and changes in their role and education 4

Chapter 2 8

Jane - a Victorian governess and her identity  8

Chapter 3 12

Marriage and Equality 12

Conclusion  16

Bibliography  17

Introduction

With Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë created a literary work that shook traditional conventions in Victorian England by showcasing the feminist view so clearly. It is a work that refutes denial and ignorance of women’s sexual identity and passion. Jane Eyre shows that women are capable of being passionate and of experiencing fulfillment in a marriage where the partners are equals.

In the following essay, I will explain the role and some major problems of middle–class women in 19th century Victorian England. Moreover, I will explain how ‘the woman question’ (Martin, J. 1999:15) appeared and stress the fact that it brought about a complete and complex change in English society. In chapter 1, the emphasis will lie on the historical background which shall serve as a basis for the following chapters where the main focus is made on the analysis of Charlotte Brontë’s text Jane Eyre. I will illustrate that Jane Eyre is a woman who, resisting the limiting conventions of her time, reaches her goal – a life in fulfillment and bliss. It shall also be shown that Jane’s life is a symbolical “pilgrimage towards maturity and fulfillment” (Newman 1996: 475) starting in Gateshead and continuing with stops in Lowood, Thornfield and Moor House, before concluding in Ferndean.

Chapter 1

Women in Victorian England - Traditions and changes in their role and education

1The image of middle-class women in early nineteenth-century England is based on the assumption that women naturally differ from men in every sense: not only physically but especially intellectually. While men are granted physical strength, women are weak creatures 1All information about the historical context in chapter 1 is taken from the following sources: Burstyn, Joan N.. 1980. Victorian education and the ideal of womenhood. London: Croom and Helm Ltd. Peterson, M. Jeanne. 1972. “The Victorian Governess: Status Incongruence in Family and Society.” Suffer and Be Still Women in the Victorian Age. Ed. Vicinus, Martha. Indiana UP: Bloomington. 3-19. Gilbert, Sandra M.. 1996. “Plain Jane’s Progress.” Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë. Edited by Beth Newman. Ed. Newman, Beth. Boston: Bedford Books of St.Martin’s Press. 475-501. Brontë, Charlotte. 2005. Jane Eyre. London: Bounty Books. (Served all four as sources for ‘The role of women in Victorian England’, ‘The woman question’ and Education’.)

Martin, Jane. 1999. Women and the Politics of Schooling in Victorian and Edwardian England. London: Leicester University Press. (Served as source for ‘The role of women in Victorian England’ and ‘The woman question’.) Nestor, Pauline. 1992. Charlotte Brontë`s Jane Eyre. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf. (Served as source for ‘The role of women in Victorian England’ and ‘Education’.) through and through. As John Burgon pointed out in 1884, “Women’s strength lies in her essential weakness” (Burstyn 1980: 33), according to him, women are said to be men’s conscience and their strength is pureness in spirit. Inevitably, men’s and women’s tasks are likewise clearly distinguished. A man is expected to earn money, make it available to his wife, mother, daughters and sisters. Women’s tasks on the other hand, are overseeing the education and care of their children, shopping, organizing the household and by providing tranquility in a peaceful and comfortable home. A woman’s work is performed inside the sheltering house: it is spiritual and educational as it consists of teaching good virtues and moral values through her tenderness - the woman is to be the “moral guardian of society” (Burstyn 1980: 99).

A women in the Victorian age who does not have to work is a status symbol for husband and family. The more well-off a family and the greater its economic success are deciding factors in how much leisure a woman can afford. Working middle-class women who had to make their own living came from socially deprived families and were treated with contempt.

Excluded from the financial world, women depend completely on men. The denial of women being capable of experiencing passion and of having the natural ability to learn and to be suitable for a higher education leads to a general captivity of women, that many do not realize at all. Grace Pool in ‘Jane Eyre’ hardly ever leaves the attic, and both Adèle and Georgiana are only concerned with their beauty and luxury. Helen Burns endures constant submission and takes refuge in religion. Other women, however, revolt against this assumption – not without result. As a women longing for fulfillment, Jane Eyre finds herself in captivity, imposed upon by society. This idea is symbolised through the red-room scene. Faced with her aunt’s degradation and injustice, Jane’s situation is best portrayed in this scene. As an unjust punishment Jane is locked up in a mysterious room and bound with a pair of female garters that symbolise her fate – one that women in Victorian England often face: ignorance, passivity, reserve, submission and stillness. Women are given no space for self opinion or free development of their own personality. “It’s only on condition of perfect submission and stillness that I shall liberate you,” Aunt Reed warns her (Brontë 2005: 16), but Jane can neither stand submission nor “endure patiently” (Brontë 2005: 67). Jane’s strong will to fight is symbolised by the “hot fire” (Brontë 2005: 503) inside her. “Suffer and be still” (Vicinus 1972) becomes a guiding principle of feminists who revolt and bring into conscience the doctrine of their society.

[...]